What’s age got to do with it? B.C. couple with 45-year gap talks happy marriage

It’s not your conventional marriage, but for Armstrong newlyweds Don and Stefani Walper, it works.

Married for nearly a year, with a one-year old son, the couple began turning heads after an episode of WE TV show Extreme Love aired. The premise of Extreme Love is explained on the show’s site as: “extreme love stories of weird and wild relationships, proving there is someone for everyone.”

So what’s unconventional about this marriage? There’s a 45 year age gap. She’s 24, he’s 69.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand that age gap relationships can be genuine,” said Stefani during an interview featured in the segment. “The majority seem to assume that there’s got to be something else going on. You love somebody because you love them.”

Some scenes were shot at The Green Pub in Vernon, where the couple met while Stefani was working there as a waitress. Don was a customer.

Throughout the episode, the two are captured kissing several times. When asked about the best part of the relationship, Stefani said it was the sex. She said that after Don had proposed, they decided to start trying to get pregnant.

“Three weeks later, I had a positive test,” said Stefani.

Their son, Lachlan, is Don’s second child. His first son is, according to Don, roughly 24 — the same age as Stefani.

“So Don tells me this story,” Stefani said. “And I was like ‘wait what’s your son’s name?’ And Don repeats it. I was like ‘oh my god, I know him.’”

Turns out, Stefani actually went to school with Don’s son.

When the video was posted to the popular Facebook page Vernon Rant and Rave, it garnered a lot of attention. This, according to the video, is nothing new. Throughout the video, they address the criticisms and judgment they receive from strangers and passersby.

“People insult me more then they insult Don because I’m the ‘gold digger’; I’m the one with ‘daddy issues’; I’m the one who can’t support myself and I need a man to save me,” she said.

Don said that he never worries about his age.

“It’s just a number,” he said. “You keep living the same anyway. As long as the mind is active, the body will keep following it.”

“I feel like I have a man,” added Stefani. “I have a stable relationship. I have somebody that I can trust.”